The Chevrolet Suburban was introduced in 1935. The rise in popularity of sport utility vehicles since the debut of the Chevrolet Suburban has drastically increased. Typically, sport utility vehicles come with a pair of cargo doors that swing laterally outward to provide access to a rear cargo area of the vehicle. Alternately, a liftgate is provided which swings up to provide access to a rear cargo area of the vehicle. Other vehicles, such as minivans and pickup truck with canopies, also utilize rear doors, often of the liftgate variety, to provide access to the rear cargo area.
With the doors in the open position, the rear cargo area is subject to the elements. Thus the contents of the rear cargo area may be damaged from precipitation. Further, no protection from the elements is provided. Therefore, a user in proximity to the rear cargo area is subject to precipitation and sun exposure. This is especially troublesome when the user is frequently accessing the rear cargo area or performing work from the rear cargo area. Therefore, a need exists to provide a canopy system adapted to interface with the rear of the vehicle to provide protection from the elements to objects and persons in the vicinity of the rear cargo area.
One previously developed solution has been to suspend a tarp between the cargo doors or over the liftgate. While this provides some protection, it is not without its problems. For instance, the rigging of the tarp takes a significant amount of time, labor, and ingenuity to lash the tarp in place such that it can withstand the elements, most notably gusts of wind. Further, especially with cargo doors, the area of the tarp suspended between the cargo doors sags, decreasing headroom and creating a concave area to hold rainwater. The pooled water is prone to leaking through the tarp and wetting a user under the tarp or damaging contents of the rear cargo area. The weight of the pooled water can overcome the lashings and cause the tarp system to fail. Further, the tarp often flaps in the wind, causing bothersome noise and potentially scratching the vehicle. Further, the tarp system does not expand the area of coverage, i.e., either above or to the sides of the doors, since no rigid support system is provided to extend the tarp outward. Further still, there is no rigid support system to direct drainage during precipitation, leading to pooling of water as discussed above.
For these reasons, there exists a need for a canopy system adapted to interface with an opening in a vehicle that provides protection to the elements, adequately controls drainage, is easy to install and take down, is inexpensive to manufacture, reliable, and meets or exceeds the performance requirements of the end user.